>DOE Pushing On With $5 Billion In Solar Energy Loans
By: Eamon Javers
The U.S. Department of Energy said it plans to push ahead with as much as $5.3 billion in potential additional alternative energy loans by Friday, despite Republican complaints the money is going out too quickly to untested firms.
That comes against a backdrop of increasing political controversy overthe ill-fated loan recipient Solyndra, the company whose bankruptcy has prompted questions of who inside the Obama Administration knew of the company’s weak financial position and why they continued to pour taxpayer money into it.
The DOE has made seven conditional commitments for additional funding by the time the loan guarantee legally expires on Sept. 30. So far, it has made 23 loans totaling $11.2 billion, said a spokesman